Data tables can be used in various electronic and computer devices to store data in an organized manner so that specific data elements can later be retrieved. For example, network switches can contain large data tables that can include routing tables that can store and/or update the identifiers associated with forwarding of network data to other interconnected network devices. These identifiers can indicate network routes (or the next stop along such a route) to the other network devices. The size of these routing tables can become increasingly large when associated with large numbers of network devices.
Routing tables are traditionally implemented using Ternary Content-Addressable Memories (TCAMs) for faster route lookup time. However, TCAMs consume more power as compared to static random access memories (SRAMs). In some instances, blocks of TCAMs can be switched on or off at power-up of a network device to save power based on a deployment configuration. However, once the network device is deployed in the field, power configuration of the network device cannot be changed based on changing load conditions. In most instances, changing the power configuration may require rebooting of the network device. This can result in loss of packets or re-routing of the packets causing huge overhead at the system level.